For the last 16 years, I've been gigging with my Gibson Howard Roberts Fusion III. My previous #1 guitar, an Eric Clapton Strat, had been relegated to rehearsals.

I've decided to take the EC Strat out for my next gig, and am in the process of giving it a much deserved setup. One thing I noticed (as with my other Strat), that there's a lot more buzz coming from the amp, that completely disappears if I stand in a particular direction relative to the amp.

Now, this is something I've gotten used to and am very familiar with, after years and years of playing Strats, but it got me thinking - will my Further have the same issues with buzzing that my Strats do? The EC Strat has Lace Sensors, which had some sort of provision to reduce hum, but I don't think they actually do.

What's the deal with Alembic's "stock" pickups for the Furthur? What can I expect?

It is my understanding that your pickups will have a dummy coil that acts similarly to the second coil of a humbucker, without the associated frequency loss due to phase issues. I believe only the Series I and II pickups are true single coils, but they of course have a separate on board hum canceling coil as part of their electronics.

Kevin is correct. The pickups on a Further are "hum canceling". They are composed of a single coil pickup stacked on top of a dummy coil (coil of wire without the magnet in the middle). I've never experienced "single coil buzz" with my Further.

Bill, that's reassuring to know - I thought that was the case, but nothing beats in-the-field use for proof!

On a somewhat related note, Bill, do you know the technical reason why two of the pickups are stacked, while one is shaped like a humbucker (knowing that Alembic doesn't make humbuckers)? I haven't gotten around to asking Mica yet, but I figured you'd know already.

Mike is also correct. As I understand it, the wider humbucker-shaped pickups see more of the strings and thus result in a fuller tone than the narrow single coil-shaped pickups. One thing though, the stock Further configuration consists of humbucker-shaped pickups in the bridge and middle position, with a single coil-shaped pickup at the neck position. I had this modified for my custom Further Woody which features the pickup alignment you describe. I was looking for the country-type rhythm tones I get when I use the middle pickup on a Strat.